Taiwan’s government will invest NT$90 million (nearly US$3 million) in a bid to double the nation’s production of surgical face masks. That’s the word on Thursday from Cabinet Spokesperson Kolas Yotaka. She said the goal is to ensure that there will be enough masks to go around in the event that they are needed.
Demand has skyrocketed following the global outbreak of COVID-19. The government is rationing masks, allowing adults to buy just two per week. The maximum for children 13 and under is four per week.
The head of the economics ministry’s Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ho Ching-tseng, said Thursday that Taiwan is currently producing 6.2 million surgical masks per day. He said the daily output is likely to increase to ten million by March 9. The new budget will pay for an additional 30 mask-making machines that could further boost production to 13 million masks per day. That means it would take less than two days to create a mask for everyone in Taiwan.